


Red and Blue Looks Good on You

by casualwonder



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: !!!, And at feelings, And poor keith has to help, Another one!, Awkward Dates, Character Development, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Drama, F/F, Fake Dating, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, High School, Kind of cliche? my bad I cant help it, Lance makes a mistake, Lance trains Keith to be his fake bf, M/M, Road Trips, Romelle and Allura are together, Sharing a Bed, They are bad at acting, They dont notice they like each other, all that fun stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-01-23 18:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18555262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casualwonder/pseuds/casualwonder
Summary: Lance has screwed up many times before but this has to be the biggest screw up he's ever done. After bumping into his ex to see that she has moved on he lies in panic about having a boyfriend hoping that was the end of it, until the rumor spreads like wildfire and he is in need of a fake boyfriend.But he knows just the person to make up for it after spilling coffee on him which embarks a mishap of madness.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Lance McClain is by no means a loser. He's not an outsider and plans to not be. He likes to think he's just preparing himself to take a step higher even if he might not be so special to others. But to that, Lance doesn't consider himself a loser. He might consider as a nobody, which is why at this significant moment Lance is begging for his dear life.

“Listen, I have to go to this party!” Lance frantically wails his hands around in the process of convincing his sister, “If I don't go then that just makes me a sad loser.”

“Are you serious?” Veronica quirks a brow with a skeptic look, chewing on her gum rather loudly. He sounds crazy and Lance knows that, but she stays at the doorway of his bedroom.

“Yes! If you can just cover for me that would be nice,” Lance clasps his hands together as a begging pose, “Please?”

“No way! You know eventually, someone will realize you are gone. You don't exactly make yourself invisible here.”

“Just tell them I'm at Hunk's,” He sighs, knowing any of this isn't working. “Veronica,” Lance steps out of his beanbag, “My dear, oldest, sweet sister.”

“Lance, that doesn't work on me,” She snaps when feeling Lance wrap his arms around her tightly, leaving no room left to breathe.

“Please, I'll do anything! You just need to cover for me. Then when dad gets home just text me and I'll skedaddle on over and boom, everyone is safe from family living room meetings,” He charms his best smile. Looking up at her to see her roll her eyes.

“Fine. Lend me your last chocolate bar then I'll cover for you,” She pushes him off her. Throwing off his balance and letting him fall butt-first on his beanbag. Lance huffs from her impeccable strength and the fact that he won't be coming home to his chocolate bar.

He stands back up, patting his clothes, "Thank you! You're the best, love you, I owe you my life,” He grabs his wallet and phone, basically the only things he'll be bringing. There's not much to bring anyway.

The annual party will be at the new bowling alley later this afternoon. It's a tradition for students at Altea High School to host a party every spring break. Half the school goes, and Lance is one of the people that don't go due to not being allowed to by parents. But returning to school to hear many rumors about it being "spectacular" makes him sting of jealousy and he can't add another year of not going.

So, in conclusion, he must go.

“Besides, if you have said no, you wouldn't have any other choice because Pidge and Hunk are going anyways, and you know we three musketeers don't leave each other.”

“When are you going to stop being a baby about hiding and sneaking off? If either mom or dad doesn't buy this, they are going to be so pissed at you!” She frowns, "And since I'm in it I'll have to deal with it."

“If I tell them, they won't let me,” Lance says adjusting his jean jacket in his mirror. He spins on the balls of his feet, gliding over to her, “I think it's best if this stays a secret. So, it's all on you, sis," He gives her a pat on her shoulder.

“I'm a good liar unlike you. You suck at acting.”

Okay, she is right. There is no lie there. Lance has tried many times to cover up his siblings when they want to sneak out. It has been a repetitive tradition in the McClain household. It started out with a young, toddler self Lance sitting on the couch watching cartoons with his hair a mess and dinosaur pajamas on, just minding his own business when his oldest brother, Luis came running down the stairs telling Lance that if anyone asked for him he was at soccer practice, which was also a lie, but Lance went with it.

It didn't go well.

Again, it has happened many times with each one of his four siblings and Lance would always have to be the one to cover up, but with his terrible, _terrible_ acting skills that has never managed to get better over time, it never ended well. It results in a family meeting in the living room, receiving a life of a scolding from their parents and his abuelita. Which Lance always take seriously. Despite her being a nice, fragile, elderly woman that Lance adores, she immediately switches to a not so nice, fragile, elderly women and would at times, give him a hard smack on his back for misbehavior. It hurts. 

A thing about Lance's family is that they are strict. They have rules about when to come home, when to make time to have dinner with the family and when to be in bed. Don't get him wrong. He loves his family with all of his heart, but there's a time where he feels stuck and caged in. He can't go out to parties without his mother begging him not to go because of a fear someone will try to take him.

Sure, Lance knows where she is coming from and understands but Lance isn't necessary alone and has Hunk and Pidge at his side. Yet, Lance cannot for the life of him tell them where he is going tonight. Besides, it's his turn to sneak out.

“Wait a minute,” Veronica lays her foot out before the doorway to stop him in his tracks. Lance tripping out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“Isn't it too early?”

“I'm heading down to the corner coffee shop. Pidge wants iced coffee. She'll literally tear me to shreds if I don't hurry, so could you just…” Lance nudges her foot away and steps forward, "Perfect. Okay, I guess I'll see you later!” Lance starts down the hallway.

“You better be quick!” She yells at him, still standing at his doorway with a deadpan expression and arms tighten across her chest.

“Right!” Lance hops down their stairs careful not to trip over the action figures that his nephew has left from this morning.

Lance yanks the knob of the front door with a grin, stepping out of the house swiftly before anyone drags him back inside. He finally feels free from chores, screaming babies, and responsibilities. A rush of thrill swims through his veins, weightless at his feet as he takes another step away from the door.

He sniffs the air to smell the obvious stench of earth. Plants, grass, wet concrete from last night's rain. Everything screams spring and Lance is into it.

He meanders to the front of the garage to lift up the door casually jumping to have the door screech until it was up. All thanks to him that the family has to go through this just because he broke the remote to open the garage door. Really it was Marco's fault for spraying him with the hose and making Lance drop the thing.

“There we go,” He mumbles with a sparkle of mischief seeing his most prized possession hang lowly on a rack in all it's glory.

His angel, his baby, his everything.

His bike.

Lance lifts the bicycle off and gently places it down. Examining the mechanical beauty with his hands ghosting over the handles and rough tires.

This bike is the only reason why he is living and is very aware of the fact that he is exaggerating. And if anyone dares to take his bike away or ruin it's godforsaken beauty it's the end for him. She may be a little rough looking from the many years he's owned it, but she still works like a charm.

He hops on his bike in all good feeling. Pedaling down his driveway at full speed. The wind blow increasingly through his locks, speeding down the side of the road passing rows of houses and jogging women on sidewalks. Seeing everyone out to enjoy the nice warm weather causes Lance to truly believe that spring has arrived and the start of an absolute fun has begun.

 

…

Keith's job isn't what people would find the best, but to him, it is the perfect job to have.

He's worked at the corner coffee shop for some time now after his brother Shiro has offered him to take his place and follow his footsteps. The shop is tucked away in a corner of a town where most cars pass and hikers and elderly people stop by.

The shop is peaceful with only the sound of cars passing, birds singing outside, a soft jazz soundtrack playing on the speakers, and not to bring up the smell of coffee beans and caramel mixes into sweetness to have Keith feeling at ease.

He works at the cashier occasionally, makes the coffee and cleans the tables in case of any spills or leftover crumbs from their bakery. During break, he would sit in the back, have a bite from a muffin and study quizzes for school or finish any homework.

The thing about his job is that it gives him a break from reality. He takes as many hours as he can just to not be home. His mom is always out at work and Shiro has moved out with his boyfriend. It's just Keith and his dog.

The other plus about this job is another break of school reality. This place isn't popular enough for students from his high school to hang. Only a few walk in but they don't annoy Keith or acknowledge him. He only has to face two employees from his school here and one of them being his ex-boyfriend James, makes it awkward. Only when both their breaks are at the same time they would chat but James isn't the sort of ex that wants to cause destruction to your life.

And Keith is grateful for that. Feelings aren't sorrowed, they broke up for a reason.

“Here you go, sir. Have a nice day,” Keith brings a brown bag over the counter to an elderly man, a regular who comes during Keith's shifts.

“Thank you, Keith,” Nimble hands takes the bag gently with a smile, “It's such a nice day out. Such a downer to be working today.”

“Oh,” Keith chuckles lightly, “Yeah, such a downer,” He lies.

Keith Kogane isn't one for going out much. He rather stay at his job where it's calm and collected then be out with strangers. His mom tends to push him out there but Keith doesn't have it in him to go out nor care.

The old man pays and leaves with the brown bag heavily resting in his arms. Keith sighs and rubs an arm over his forehead. If only his boss would turn on the air condition. That's one complaint Keith would say if needed.

“Hey, Keith,” A hand places on his shoulder, “You mind wiping down the tables?” Ryan asks him. He is the other person from his school that works here. Keith didn't mind him one bit, even for being a player on the football team. Ryan is actually quite a sweetheart.  

“Sure,” Keith makes a beeline to fetch a cloth and a bottle of unknown chemicals. He starts by scrubbing down empty tables near the windows. A favorite seat in the house where he can see the streets outside connect and people crossing from time to time carrying shopping bags and suitcases. The outlines of trees shadow down on the table tops with sunlight poking through vibrantly.

The silence is interrupted when the bells above the door jingles as someone walks in talking as loud as they can. Keith doesn't bother turning his head and continues wiping down tables. The voice soon adds to two more and Keith gets the idea that whoever this person is, is facetiming.

Okay, next table. Keith steps back to admire his work.

“Calm down, I'm here now. You will get your ice coffee soon.”

_Wait a minute. Why does that voice sound slightly familiar?_

Keith is ready to switch to the next table when someone pokes at his shoulder.

“Hey, I'm leaving early, can you give this to table seven?” James passes a drink to him without Keith agreeing, so he places down his supplies and grabbing hold of the drink.

He turns on his heel to go deliver, but he's suddenly not aiming for that when he steps on someone's shoe and bumps into another body which spills the drink over and, crap, he's spilled it on a customer!

“Shit,” Keith jumps back, squeezing his eyes shut, cursing out a storm in his head. Just what he needed to be putting someone down over their beverage being spilled, and for someone to have their day ruined by Keith spilling a drink on them.

“Well, there goes my shirt,” The voice from before answers and Keith opens his eyes to catch Lance.

“I'm so sorry,” Keith's eyes scrutinize the dripping mess of coffee on Lance's shirt. He's almost feeling pity that he's ruined an outfit that looked good.

Almost…and he was just endorsing it, nothing else.

The voices from the phone are jumbled into a curious mess with questions of what has happened, and they too sound awfully familiar.

“I'll call you back,” Lance thumbs the phone off stiffly, “I thought you only serve coffee not spill them,” Lance looks down at his shirt with a frown.

“If you weren't busy on the phone this wouldn't have happened,” Keith grits. He sees Ryan makes his way over to help clean up the mess, gesturing he'll make another coffee.

Keith is handed over numerous napkins and gives them to Lance who takes them and slides them over his shirt. Keith tries not to be bothered at how Lance is not dabbing his shirt instead, knowing you are supposed to dab at a stain not smother it.

“I apologize. I could give you a coupon. A free drink?” Keith offers, a part of him not wanting to get Lance upset due to how he is looking down his shirt. He loves this job too much to let it go from his grasp.

But the thing about Lance and Keith's relationship is nonexistent. They don't interact much. Keith hardly knows about Lance and Lance sure does not know anything about Keith. The only connection between them is Pidge and Hunk. The four of them rarely hang out, and the only times they do is in the cafeteria and in Liberal arts. Pidge out of the four hangs out with Keith the most. It's safe to say Keith is closer to Pidge than the others.

But even those times Keith doesn't give the opportunity to speak with Lance.

“Do you perhaps have a coupon for ice coffee?” Lance asks. Still swiping napkins after napkins across his shirt.

“Let me see,” Keith rushes over warily of the spill on the floor grabbing a handful of coupons from the back. He returns to see Lance seated at a table near the window. A table he hasn't cleaned yet and a table with the sun casting down on him. He reaches over already going through the handful of coupons.

“If you do that would be really nice. Pidge is sending me death threats about getting her ice coffee as soon as...well, now, and I don't want to go to her with a death wish written on my hands.”

“Um, let me see here — Pidge?” Keith stops shuffling the coupons to look down at Lance.

“Yeah, she needs an ice coffee stat, like, before the party. She wants the energy to fake a smile throughout and make people believe she's happy,” Lance explains, throwing a napkin on the table with the rest of the growing pile.

Keith smiles, “Yeah, sounds like Pidge...wait, you guys are going to the party?”

“And you’re not?”

Keith shakes his head and Lance’s eyes widen.

“Dude, seriously?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Why?”

“Because?” Keith arches his brow as Lance looks at him in utter shock.

“Come on dude, you have to go!”

“I don't want to. I have work till five and I'm not ditching this place to go to a party that is filled with people from school that I don't want to deal with. Spring break means to take a break, you know, from people at school.”

“Unbelievable,” Lance crosses his arms. Sinking in the seat.

“What?”

“Is it the fact that you don't know how to bowl?”

“Wha- no? I can bowl," Keith crosses his arms, "Can you?”

“You think I can't bowl? Of course, I can bowl!" Lance scoots himself forward, "I'm like the best bowling player out there! And don't change the subject,” Lance frowns. Keith just smirks to himself, seeing Lance stumble on his own words is entertaining.

“You know, we hardly talk and all but I'm really starting to think you like to be alone.”

“And that's a bad thing?” Keith slides in the seat in front of Lance.

“Well, it certainly is depressing.”

“I just don't like parties. Especially, with people from school. I can't do large crowds. It doesn't necessarily mean I like being alone,” Keith explains, the look of fathom on Lance's face makes him sigh, "I'm not good with socializing."

“You are socializing now.”

It's Keith's turn to stumble on his own words. Curse Lance and curse this conversation. Since when did he get so involved? he's on a shift, he shouldn't be sitting here.

“Look, do you want your coupon? I can't have you leave with a coffee stain and not offer you anything. It's against rules,” Keith returns back to fumbling with the coupons.

“Jeez,” Lance raises a brow, “Your boss has some outlandish rules.”

“There's none for ice coffee.”

“What!?” Lance snatches the coupons away from Keith to have a look himself. His face is full of nonplussed of nothing with ice coffee deals.

“You are just going to have to get something else, no big deal," Keith shrugged. His eyes lay on Lance's hands shuffling the coupons over and over again, eyes frantically searching.

“I don't drink coffee.”

“Then just get an extra one for Pidge.”

“She likes ice coffee, man. Not anything else here!” Lance bangs his head on the table, hard enough to bring concern and have heads turn. Keith's about to reach out and see if Lance has passed out but the brunette whips his head up faster than a blink of an eye.

“You still owe me for ruining this shirt,” Lance glares.

“Just change?”

“This was so perfect!”

“Okay?”

“You don't understand, I've had this planned for months.”

“Don't you think you're a little too obsessed with this party? What's the big deal?” Keith questions.

Lance leans back, “It may not be a big deal for you, but for someone who isn't able to go out a lot and join the crowd it is."

Keith shuts his mouth before saying any criticism by the way Lance is looking despondent.

The awkward silence between involves Lance gazing outside and Keith switching between watching Lance and clearing his throat.

“Anyways," Lance picks up, "Maybe you could just take this to the laundromat or something and call it a deal?"

“Oh, no,” Keith slams his hands on the table startling Lance as he uses them to lift himself out of his seat, ' _Is he serious?'_ “I am not doing that. Just take a random coupon, order, and it's settled.”

“Uh, no? I don't like any of those drinks. I'm not going to waste.”

Why is he being so difficult right now? Keith just wishes he could —

“I can't have you walking out with nothing, I-”

Lance's phone vibrates on the table, both turning their head towards the electronic. Keith watches Lance pick it up and an expression crosses his face.

“Pidge is sending me disturbing memes, I need to go," Lance slides out of the seat, adjusting his jacket and shirt that Keith still eyes the stain. He thought at least he didn't spill coffee on his pants or else it could have looked more embarrassing.

He would have mentioned it to chill the air down between them, instead, Keith nods and walks back behind the counter to make an iced coffee for Pidge.

Lance pays for the drink and Keith hands it over to him. He thought it is good between them but Lance opens his mouth to say, "I'm letting you go easy for now."

“I don't understand,” Keith simply answers.

“I won't forget about this. You owe me,” And Lance walks out, the bells jingle overhead and Keith wipes at his forehead again.

Keith can note one thing from his encounter with Lance and that is Lance being difficult to deal with. Maybe it's a zodiac thing or just started off the wrong way. But from their first interaction Keith has already spilled coffee on him, and now owes him for it.

 

…

What is more fun than returning to school to hear all the fun people have done on break, all the vacations they've gone to, and most importantly, all the fun they had at the party? Going to the party.

And when Lance stepped inside the bowling alley he felt elevated and electrified when the loudspeakers pump through pop electro music. The lights dimmed low to show off neon color graphite on the walls and a light show dancing patterns on the floors. The building has reeked of what supposes as greasy food combos from cheesy fries to drenched pizza.

Everything about that seemed right when waiting in line to get his shoes and seeing all the recognizable faces. The feeling of finally being in a crowd, being part of a crowd, having a chance to frolic around with others that Lance has never spoken to before. Bowling with Pidge and Hunk and cheering whenever Lance has finally gotten a strike or a cry whenever Pidge has scored higher than him. It just all feels so right.

And once the lights are off and the music gets louder the crowd of students loses it.

It must have been two hours or more that Lance has done almost everything in the building. The trio hit the arcade and battled against each other in car races and games of shooting zombies. They ordered almost everything on the menu. Lance has even gotten a chance to sit with a group of cheerleaders that adored him but actually listened to what he had to say.

It's all feeling just about right. Everything is going smoothly, and Lance is ready to return school with stories of his own.

“I'm so glad I had coffee before this,” Pidge says, sinking into the cushioned couch at their lane. Hunk leans back next to her, lazing around. It is only right for the three to sit around after bowling for multiple rounds.

“All thanks to me,” Lance grins. He points at himself before letting his hand fall and his body sink in the couch across them.

“You were a little late. I almost thought you wanted me to kill you.”

“It's not my fault that someone spilled coffee on me. I had to go back home and change,” Lance rests a leg over his knee, “You know how hard it was to sneak back inside? My bedroom is on the second floor! I texted Veronica to help and luckily she had a rope for me to climb."

"A rope?" Hunk tilts his head.

"Yeah, from the times she's snuck out. It wasn't so easy but I climbed up and—"

“Wah wah, all I hear is a baby,” Pidge mocks using her hand as a puppet to cry out, “But I appreciate it for returning my coffee without any trips.”

“Yeah, man, how did you ride your bike with her coffee?” Hunk asks.

“What can I say I'm a pro.”

“How old is your bike?”

“M'dunno,” Lance mumbles, “Ten?”

“Ten? Isn't it time for a new one?” Hunk suggests kindly, “I mean, it's running old, and your seat looks close to falling —"

Lance interrupts him with a splitting gasp, “Don't you dare point out her imperfections!”

“Sorry,” Hunk said, incoherent.

“It's a bike,” Pidge deadpans, “It isn’t special,” She raises an empty cup to her lips, drinking whatever is left leaving an obnoxious slurp noise.

“She's not just a bike. She's important,” He wraps his arms, “You don't understand.”

“Yeah, exactly. I don't understand.”

“Man,” Hunk coughs into his hand, “My throat is dry. I think I'm going to get a drink,” He says out of the blue and is ready to stand up when Lance holds his hand out.

“I'll get it for you. What do you want?”

“Water would be nice.”

“Wait,” Pidge sits up, “If this is some excuse to go talk to other girls you horndog then-”

“Offensive. And no, I'm not, how could you think so lowly of me,” Lance lingers in his place, “You sound like Veronica,” and he's off.

Lance squeezes between crowds of people trying to get over to the small bar connected across from the arcade area.

Lance isn't stupid he knew Hunk was faking— He knew what good of a friend Hunk is to do such a thing to avoid the sensitive topic of his bike. Pidge doesn't know and Lance can't fathom telling Pidge why the bike holds such meaning to him. Thanks to Hunk, Lance is able to get back on his feet before snoozing.

But just on cue, the lights suddenly dim low and the music starts drumming through his chest. The current crowd he is glued in suddenly starts hollering like they just had alcohol or a popular boy band has just entered the building. Lance groans in a mess of the crowd making it harder to squeeze himself out.

He isn't in the mood to be feeling small in a large group for once. His chest suddenly feels heavy and panic overtakes his body until a hand grabs him by the collar of his shirt to be yanked away from the mess of teenagers.

“Thank you so much,” Lance relaxes, patting down his sleeves. He looks down to see the hand discard from him and his blood runs cold, he recognizes those arms before, “Allura?”

“Hey, Lance,” Her soft-spoken voice brings Lance back to reality when he looks up at her, “Are you okay?” Her eyebrows furrow.

“I am now,” Lance answers softly. It's been so long since he's last seen Allura. Even with classes he shares with her they ignore each other's looks. Lance couldn't lie and say he's not heartbroken about the breakup. It still hurts, and it didn't help that Lance blames himself not making it work.

“I knew you'd be here,” She smiles, “I just didn't expect you to be one of the wild ones,” Lance smiles at her. He really shouldn't acknowledge how beautiful she looks under dim lights, and how her hair sits over her shoulders perfectly, and how she looks generally happy.  

“I was on a mission until that happened,” He chuckles, nervously at that.

“A mission?”

“Hunk wanted a glass of water.”

“The rest are here?” Her eyes lit up, already searching over Lance's shoulder and a part of his heart cracks, “I need to talk to them. It's been so long…”

Lance knows what she is implying at. After the break up they have promised it wouldn't cause such a big deal. They thought they could just go back to being friends again, but they were wrong. The unintentional tension increased and Lance felt Allura might not have wanted to deal with him after long silences and glances in halls.

“You should. They would be so happy to see you. Maybe we can hang out after? And talk? Play catch up?" He's trying. He's trying to have her stay, he's trying to pull his soul to her, afraid of letting her go under his fingers.

“God, Lance I wish but I have to be home soon,” She sighs, “I need to do some unfinished business,” They both laugh and Lance's heart swells just hearing her laugh again.

“Do you need a ride?” He knows he's talking crazy — he arrived on a bike for crying out loud.

“No need. My girlfriend is dropping me off.”

_Girlfriend._

“Girlfriend?”

The lights return and the music dies down just a smudge. Everyone is exposed including his expression that's twisted with hurt. His heart sinks down to his stomach, and his breath feels hot.

“Yeah!” She gushes, obvious, “You should meet her. Maybe I'll catch her near,” She ducks her head, eyes searching for her purposely “Girlfriend” in the crowd.

“How...how long?” Lance asks, keeping up the fake smile on his face. He shouldn't be wanting to know the answer. He should focus on the part of how happy she seems.

Maybe if he just could let go of the past. Maybe if he could actually smile when Allura pulls in a blonde chick and wraps an arm around her waist. Grinning so big and bright with loving eyes. He could be happy for her, he really could.

“Romelle,” The girl inches her hand out for Lance to shake. Lance returns the hand shake pretentious.

“We have been together for only four months,” Allura answers, “It feels like we been together longer,” They both grab hands, holding tightly and Lance can tell how in love they were. It is screaming bloody murder at him.

“I have a boyfriend.”

“What?”

“I…” Did he just say that out loud?

Did he just say he had a _boyfriend?_

“I — uh, yeah, I have a boyfriend we just — You know been dating for some time… it feels like forever,” He torches out a choked laugh, bringing a hand to massage the back of his neck.

“Where is he?”

“He's at...work...somewhere, you know?”

He's such a dumbass. How could he just blurt that out? He hasn't even told anyone yet he's bisexual and here he is blurting it out. A lie. A damn lie he has created just so he wouldn't hear more words of how in love they were.

“Lance,” Allura reaches out for him, her soft hands touching his wrist, “I'm glad you found someone.”

And, fuck, she’s giving him a look that just screams sympathy and maybe she's even proud that he has moved on when really he hasn't.

“Yeah...it was crazy at first, but we just hit it off,” Lance feels sweat down his back.

“We had some struggles too,” Allura brushes a hair with her fingers, “But we got through it. It was tough.”

“Yeah,” Lance nods. Totally understanding, because you know why? Cause he has a boyfriend, he's definitely in love with someone, and they definitely went through some struggles and passed the awkward step of a relationship. Yes, of course, he understands what kinds of troubles Allura has been through by the way they are not letting any space between them. 

_Perdedor._

Lance can wish and hope and beg and do whatever it takes that this whole boyfriend mishap ends. But to add on to his karma Lance brings Allura over to Hunk and Pidge. All trying to catch up. They meet Romelle and fall in a liking of her, Lance never missing the look Hunk gives him after, but once the boyfriend situation slips out of Allura's mouth, Hunk and Pidge lean over in their seats with dropped jaws.

“Lance has a boyfriend?!” They both garbled out, eyes popping out of their skulls.

“Surprise,” Lance brings out the jazz hands, smile slanted. Definitely not making thi. forced.

“Why didn't you tell us sooner? Who is it? We need to meet him; do we know him?”

“Um,” Lance's avoids eye contact, rubbing the palm of his hands on his jeans. His bottom lip quivers and, yeah, he's screwed.

“Hey, you and your boyfriend should join us,” Romelle said, “It could be a double date!”

He’s double screwed now with the way she smiles at him oh so sweetly, he nods and Allura sits next to him giving him a side hug, excited and rambling on about the double date.

Hunk and Pidge still stare at him, dazed and bewildered.

Yeah, he's double screwed.

 

…

“Take out?”

“Of course.”

“Chinese?”

“Always.”

Keith's mother smiles as Keith lounges on the living room couch, sweatpants and all, scrolling through his phone of missed YouTube videos. He's just gotten back from another day of work, glad to be home relaxing with his mother instead of being alone.

Shiro was supposed to come and join them for dinner and a movie to spend time as their mom had no work tonight. Keith frowned when he got the text from Shiro saying he couldn't make it but opts to take that as a way to just spend time with her alone.

“Regular tonight?” His mom calls out peeking from the kitchen doorway with a phone pressed on her cheek. Keith nods and she's back to ordering. He maintains scrolling through his phone, stomach growing hungry by the minute when the doorbell rings. His eyes shift from the door to his mom talking on the phone. It isn’t Chinese food.

And Keith knows his parents always remind him to never open doors to strangers or anyone in that circumstance. Well, Keith never listens but he fully regrets it when he peeps behind the curtains to see Lance at his doorstep, shifting foot to foot.

He opens his door, “Hey, Lance?”

“Hey!” Lance stops shifting in place, “Hey, man. How's it going? Did work go fine? Amazing. You look comfy, did you just get off work?”

“Lance,” Keith reaches out to grab hold of his shoulder and Lance stills in place, shutting his mouth, “Calm down.”

“Sorry… I'm in a bit of a mess right now.”

“What's wrong?” Keith leans his body at the side.

“Well…”

“Yeah?”

“I'm in a bit of a predicament right now and I'm in need of your help.”

“And that is?”

“Listen, the party yesterday was amazing,” He goes on, “I had fun but then something happened and now I don't know what to do, I couldn't sleep last night...”

Keith glances on a bike at the side of his driveway answering his question of how Lance got here and why Lance's hair is sticking all over the place. His eyes shift down to see Lance throwing his hands all over the place, his socks were two different colors, one rolled down and his right foot tapping furiously.

“Lance, slow down.”

“Sorry, sorry, I really have a problem of running my mouth.”

“And not getting to the point,” Keith comments.

“Anyways, I ran into my ex yesterday and she told me she had a girlfriend so I…”

The hesitant stare leaves Keith balancing back on both feet, “You, what?”

“I might have lied and told her that I have a boyfriend.”

“And?”

Lance stares at Keith, twirling his thumbs and Keith's heart is starting to sink down into his gut realizing what this is turning into.

No, he doesn't like this. He doesn't like the look Lance is giving him, he doesn't like what's to come out of his mouth next. He feels his face heating up and he purposively wants to slam the door on his face so Lance couldn't see and speak no more.  

So, he closes the door.

“Wait! Keith, please hear me out!” Lance sticks his foot in between for Keith not to close fully, “Give me a chance?”

“Lance, I don't like this. I'm not liking how this is going,” Keith glares through the crack of the door.

“And you think I don't?”

“This is not a good idea, and you know it's never going to end up nice! I've seen movies about this, and it never ends well,” Keith pushes the door open wider, “Emotionally well.”

“You watch romantic comedies?” Lance smirks, pocketing his hands and swaying on his feet.

“What? No — I, of course not — I don't watch,” The smirk on Lance's face grows, “Okay, fine I do. But this situation right here is definitely not going to be a romantic comedy.”

“Yeah, you're right. More like a horror movie.”

Keith idly watches Lance until he's impatient enough to hear the rest and slowly closes his door again, and curse this boy's reflexes cause Lance is back to sticking his foot in between.

“Listen, Keith, buddy, man, just listen to me. My ex invited me to go on a double date with her girlfriend by the end of this week and I need a fake boyfriend. Like, I really need a fake boyfriend now. So, I thought since you spilled coffee on me this morning and still owe me for that, this could make up for it?"

“No.”

“Keith, please,” He begs, stepping forward and grabbing on Keith's arm, “I'm desperate!”

“I'm not getting dragged into your mess that _you_ caused and — how did you know where I lived?”

“I asked Pidge.”

“You could have texted me.”

“I didn't have your number.”

“You could have asked Pidge!”

Lance slaps a hand on his face, grumbling curses, “See? My head is a mess right now.”

“I'm still not doing it. This only happens in movies and I am not playing in it. Go on Craigslist or something. Ask Hunk.”

“Well here's another itch. I lied to them too.”

“I cannot believe you.”

“I know, I know,” He sighs, “I suck. I couldn't help my feelings back there! I just didn't like the way they looked so good together… it hurts, and I acted out of selflessness and jealousy. Look, it's only for one day. We go on this double date; pretend we are stupid in love and then done.”

Keith crosses his arms tightly over his chest with eyes narrowed. Wishing that this is just a dream or that the Chinese delivery could interrupt this conversation. Keith has seen movies about this situation and it never ends up right on the emotional side. Keith isn't about to get into that mess. He knows better not to mix movie plots with reality.

“What do you say?” Lance holds out his hand.

Keith doesn't know what to do. He never would've thought some guy he hardly knows would show up at his doorstep pleading to have Keith be his fake boyfriend.

“Okay, I decided.”

“Yeah?”

“And my answer is no.”

The door slams on Lance's face and he's left sulking on Keith's porch.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, here we go again with another fic idea. I hope y'all enjoyed it as much I enjoyed writing it, especially writing their interactions together  
> I'm super excited to see how this goes :,)
> 
>  
> 
> * Thank you for reading *


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jsbsjs I apologize that it took a MONTH to update. I've been so busy with KlanceyMay and college. I promise you won't have to wait that long again.

 

It takes two seconds for Lance to stumble out of Keith's driveway and return back on his bike. Keith sighs heavily with shoulders shrinked down like a weight of a bowling ball. A sudden relief hits him like when he thought he was going to die when he accidentally swallowed toothpaste as a kid to only wake up the next day alive.

Keith doesn't want to fake any relationship. He doesn’t want to play any sort of movie cliche script. If he wants to start a new relationship and fall in love he rather want it to be real and not simulated with no feelings attached.

The shadow of his mom appears when she pulls back the blinds to peak out.

"Who was that?" She asks. Her eyes wandering around in hopes of catching the visitor.

"No one," Keith replied.

"Is this 'no one' from school?" she asks with her head turned to Keith. The close proximity has him turning away.

"Just some annoying guy from school."

He steps away to walk into the kitchen with his mom following behind. He reaches for the cabinet to take out two plates while his mom grabs the utensils.

"Is he a friend?"

"More of a I-only-see-him-in-school-but-never-really-talk-to-person," He explains, "Pidge knows him more, I see him sometimes but we hardly talk,” He briefly considers his sentence before saying, “Okay, we talked like twice today including that fiasco, but it was all because I spilled coffee on him at work," He points out, stacking the plates down on the island. A permanent scowl on his face.

“Did you apologize?" She's using her mom voice. 

"Yeah, but he —"

"He doesn't seem annoying to me. Maybe you’re being a bit too judgemental. He came over for you to apologize."

"Oh great. You're on his side and you don't even know what our conversation lead to," Keith deadpans. His mother just shrugs her shoulders, stacking the plates in her arms, plotting the utensils on top and carry them out to the living room. Keith follows. 

"What were you guys talking about? Or am I not allowed to ask that?” She sits on the couch, Keith flanks at her side.

“Not sure If I want to talk about it,” He says. His mom is easier to talk to, could be considered the fact that Keith was only raised by her, and their bond has gotten stronger over the years.  

"Well, mind picking a movie to cool down over there?" She drops the remote on Keith's lap.

He's quick to searching on Netflix. Passing all the ones they already watched including the ones he's fallen asleep to. 

He's glad, excited mostly, to have her here to himself. Maybe that seemed greedy but of course he is a bit guilty that Shiro isn't here to spend time with her. It's been a while since the three of them had a night in. Ever since she got the job of being a nurse their quality family time has downgraded to a minimum. Almost nonexistent.

"Shiro is sorry for not coming," He blurts out. Fingers still scrolling away.

"I know how it is. He's getting the chance to finally have some privacy time with Adam," She smirks.

Keith nudges her with a sour look, "Thanks, mom. I don't need to hear more."

She falls into the cushions after setting up the table. Her eyelids hang low, chest rising slowly, “Find a movie yet?”

"Not yet. We've seen most of these."

She places her hand on Keith's shoulder to squeeze and gently ghost up to the back of his head, resting comfortably there as she sighs. A gesture she would do to calm Keith down, and something she does unconsciously that Keith never points out. They don't give hugs — not even Shiro who is a big hugger, but a simple gesture like that makes up for it. Her way of showing her love without having to say the three words.  

Keith leans into the touch, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he scrolls through many movies. The room falls silent and so does her presence. 

 

…

If someone is to ask Keith how his spring break is going he would answer that it was going fine. Working every day, getting cash, going home to walk his dog, snuggling on the couch, and if he's lucky, to see his mom occasionally. To backtrack, the keyword is "was" going fine until reality strikes again, wanting him to be a star of a cheesy teenage movie, starring him and the guy who, just days ago, was begging at his door steps, has himself sitting in Keith's living room. He doesn’t know how this happened. A minute ago he’s eating leftovers in his room and within a blink of an eye Lance is being pushed into his house.

The house is dead silent. Except for the ticking time bomb of the clock on the wall and a lawn mower roaring outside. He stands awkwardly, leaning against his t.v. stand, waiting for any peep from Lance who just taps his fingers on his bouncing knees.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Keith clears his throat — not knowing what to say exactly besides telling Lance that his answer is a permanent no.

"I'm good," Lance response. Tapping his fingers along to the ticking of the clock. It has Keith in an absolute muster of whether or not he should kick Lance out or continue on auctioning everything in his house. Like, maybe a can of soda, or even a bag chips — take the whole kitchen right at it. The ticking only becomes worse, bellicosely getting louder and faster, it bounces back in his brain and he’s ready to say something until;

"Keith Kogane," Lance purposes. He stands up, chest out, confidently giving, a bit silly looking. It grabs Keith’s attention at least, "If you don’t be my fake boyfriend, even for one night, I might just,” He collects his words. Mouth slanting in frustration, “I might just die!”

"You’re being dramatic,” Keith throws his hands in the air, “Really?”

"The double date is tomorrow, Keith. I don’t know what route to get off on with this situation."

"I have an idea. Why not actually tell her that you don’t have a boyfriend?”

In response, Lance laughs. A great belly laugh that's heavy and loud. Keith is taken back, eyes wide and startled. “That’s so funny Keith. You should be a comedian.”

“I’m being serious, Lance,” He crosses his arms. He should be getting his dog inside before the lawn mower scares him instead of this. 

"Can I just have one more shot?" Lance asks. He takes a step closer, “I’ll say one more thing.

Keith nods begrudgingly. Anything for Lance to leave sooner.

"Thank you," Lance clasps his hands together, "Now, it's only gonna be this one time. We go on the date, hold hands, we don't even have to be _that_ intimate with each other, eat dinner, and we’ll be done faster than you know it,” He snaps a finger, “Voilà!”

Keith pushes himself off the stand to head to the backdoor leading to his backyard. Lance follows along, his mouth still running like a tape recorder on repeat.

"It'll only be for about an hour. You get an hour of faking your love to me and then we can go back to being strangers or whatever you like."

Keith turns on his heels having Lance almost knocking into him, "What do I get out of this?"

Lance's face drops, "A chance to go out?"

"Really?" Keith slides the back door open and calls out for his dog.

"Yes, really. You can finally do something this break other than work and eat frozen meals while watching the same shows over and over again."

"How do you know that specifically?" His eyes search for his pup.

"Doesn’t everybody do that?"

"Look, I don't need you to tell me what to do on my break. I'm perfectly having a good time so far — Kosmo let's go!" He shouts over his neighbor's lawn mower. Lance peaks out of curiosity behind Keith’s shoulder to see a happily running fur ball jump and skip it’s way over to them. His collar jingles when the dog’s paws land on Keith's lap.

Lance stares, taking a step back to watch Keith bend down and scratch his dog behind his ears.

"You named your dog Kosmo?" He asks.

"You're gonna judge how I name my dog too?"

"No, not at all. I was just gonna say that's pretty cool," Lance kneels down besides Keith to hold out his hand. The dog's ears perk up and his nose twitches closer to Lance. Keith eyes suspiciously at the whole scene before him. His dog sniffs Lance's hand, tilts his face, and then bumps his head against Lance's hand for acceptance. 

"Aw, your dog likes me!" Lance scratches behind his ears laughing. He’s using baby talk to mutter sweet things to his dog. Lance's smile is wide and his eyes glisten with joy.

"Kosmo likes everyone. You're not special.”

Kosmo barks and rolls over to show his belly. Lance squeals. 

"Tell Keith to be my fake boyfriend," Lance baby talks the dog.

Keith’s mouth drops, "Hey, don't listen to him!"

"Kosmo told me that you should be my fake boyfriend,” he obliges,

"He did not say that," Keith eyebrows narrow down to form a frown line in the middle of his forehead, "You're not a dog whisperer."

"How would you know?" Lance smiles and has the audacity to wink at Keith.

"Okay, Kosmo needs a nap," Keith stands back up, "Come on boy," He pats his lap multiple times only for Kosmo to stare blankly.

"He's not tired."

"Did he tell you that?"

"Mhm," Lance chuckles and gives Kosmo one more pet before standing up.

Keith gives up and walks over to his kitchen, the floorboards underneath creak. He pulls a water bottle out from his fridge and chugs it down. Lance leans over the island, elbows propped up to cup his own cheeks.

"So?" Lance pauses, "You heard Kosmo."

"I can't believe you're using my dog to get me to join. I don't even get anything out of this — and don't say it's to get out of the house or get a chance to hang out with you.”

Lance taps his fingertips on his face, "But I'll be paying for the meal so you basically get a free dinner. And did I mention it's at that restaurant by the pier?"

Keith's tilts his chin up, "Red Lion's?"

Lance hums a yes.

Keith thinks to himself. He hasn’t been at Red Lion’s for a while. If he dare mentions the last time being with his own ex which is where they broke up. 

Lance gestures out a hand with a smile, his fingers wiggle anticly. Keith stares down at it. Waiting, pondering, and _waiting._

"Think of the free food. The nice pier we will be sitting by and, who knows, maybe you will enjoy it."

Keith inspects Lance's hand. Tan like the rest of his skin, no cuts or dry skin in place unlike his own rough hands. This handshake can either go down in two ways. One: actually having a great time or Two: ending up in chaos. So his gut hopefully goes with one. They shake hands over the island.

"Only this one time and I'm done with the fake boyfriend mess.”

Lance squeezes their hands together to hoot and holler.

"I promise it'll only be for tomorrow!”

"What time?" 

"Seven on the dot!"

"Okay."

"Wow, this is like my second time having a boyfriend," Lance's eyes search their hands, "Well _fake_ boyfriend. The first one ended shortly cause we were too angsty in middle school."

"Congrats. I'll try to make it special," He says. Lance rolls his eyes at the sarcasm.

The front door creaks open to announce Shiro has arrived. He stops in his tracks before entering the kitchen to see Keith and Lance. It doesn't come into terms that Keith is still holding Lance's hand, he realizes it didn't hit Lance either. They let go in haste.

"Hey, Keith," Shiro starts, "And Keith's friend?" Shiro drops his keys on the counter.

"We're study buddies," Lance grabs Keith's hand to do a fist bump that Keith doesn't acknowledge to participate in, "Just going over some...things."

"On spring break?"

"Well,” Keith clears his throat, ”There's a project we need to do when we get back and we thought we would talk about it.”

Shiro nods, "Huh," His eyes dart back and forth between the two. Lance just smiles casually "Glad you're thinking of your studies.  I guess that's what the kids are doing these days."

"You're not that old."

"I feel old around you," Shiro chuckles. He bumps his shoulders agasint Keith to rummage through the fridge.

"I'll get going," Lance pats the island, "I have to be home for dinner soon."

"Okay," Keith nods.

"So yeah, I'll just go," He steps away, "See you tomorrow," Kosmo watches him leave from the floor and Keith watches the silhouette of Lance disappear.

"Study partners, huh?" Shiro smirks behind a can of soda. Keith punches his arm in response.

 

…

Free food is what Lance reminds Keith when he is picked up from his house. He hurried Keith to drive as soon as he sat his butt down so his family wouldn't see him go. 

And he reminds them they have _dated_ for a couple of months.They shared their _first_ kiss, they take long walks around the neighborhood and send each other flirty messages in secret. Keith didn't like that last part but Lance is too desperate to make this seem real. No faking, no hesitation, and definitely no backing out.

"And if she asks us anything about our relationship always have an answer! Don't look at me or it’ll be too obvious — and we should hold hands. Always laugh when she mentions anything about us being cute 'cause I mean, c'mon, we probably would look cute together if we were dating," Lance slips out a chuckle, "And we should share a kiss after dinner — or maybe before 'cause if you're having fish I'm not kissing that mouth of yours."

"Lance -"

"I'll pull out the chair for you and then you can pull out a chair for me."

"That's not even possible if I'm already sitting," Keith barges in on his fantasy of a perfect date. He grips the steering wheel when he takes a turn down a busy road, following the directions on the Google Map from Lance's phone.

"Oh yeah," He deflates. "Well, you can open the car door for me and then I'll pull out a chair for you," Lance leans back in his seat, his arms come up to cross behind his head, "This is gonna be fun if we just play it off smoothly. Maybe we should do this more often out of boredom."

"Sure.”

"This is easy," Lance grabs Keith’s unused hand. He doesn’t get to do anything with it when Keith yanks it away.

"Can we not do the fake boyfriend stuff outside of where we need to do it?"

"You're no fun," Lance frowns. He rolls down his window just a hinge to feel the wind gently stroke his face. The temperatures were starting to warm up ranging up the mid sixties. The sky is already dusted with swirls of pink and purple, slowly morphing into a starry night.

"I thought you'd be nervous," Keith says. Noting the calm atmosphere with him and the obnoxious heavy set cologne Lance carries that is stinking up his car. Greatful for the open window. 

"Nah, not really. After a pep talk I gave myself last night I feel confident. I trust us. But Keith, man, you better have good acting skills."

"I'll be fine," He asserts, "How much do we need to do? We are just eating at a restaurant. I doubt she'll be asking about our _fake_ relationship the whole time."

"I just want it to be perfect," Lance argues back, "Let's see your acting skills," He sits up in his seat, "Show me what you got tough guy."

Keith winced at the nickname and bites his lip shortly, "Uh, I love you?"

"That's all you got?" He deadpans, “C’mon.”

"It's kind of hard right now?" Keith reminds him, his eyes signaling the steering wheel.

"We need to practice before we arrive. Look," Blue eyes swift over his phone, "We have exactly ten minutes left. Have you ever been in a relationship before?"

Keith swallows down a lump in his throat, It wasn’t that hard of a question, but to dip back in the past isn’t something Keith wants to do.

"Yeah, I have. I use to have a boyfriend. That was a while ago. This is different. This is fake. I don't even know you that well."

"Well, this can be a great opportunity to get to know me. Now let's go, show me what you got."

"You're not letting this go are you?"

"Nope,” He says ethustiactly.

"Fine." Keith takes a monumental pause. Lance waits at the edge of his seat. Keith adjusts his grip and sighs, "Lance, you will always be the love of my life. The one I want to spend my whole life with and cherish every moment of time I have with you. You are the sun to my moon, my partner for life. I never want us to break apart because I know you're the one for me. I love you.”

He keeps his eyes glued to the road. Not bothering to look at Lance’s expression. He sounded silly, but that’s what he wanted. Although the car is silent, like returning from a funeral silent. He’s afraid to look over, afraid to see the disgust on Lance’s face or any expression that can really make him feel silly.  

But he looks over and — and Lance is beaming, his mouth is dropped into a stilled gasp, but his eyes are shining. The only question that lingers is why does Lance have that stupid face on and why can’t he say something? 

“I know that was horrible you don’t have to look like… that.”

“Keith, that was actually not too bad. It was pretty romantic,” He nudges him, wiggling his brows, “Didn’t think you really had it in you.”

“I don’t trust you. That was terribly cheesy and the most cliche confession ever.”

“So you really do watch romantic comedies?” A smirk showcases his face.

“Only when I’m bored,” He grunts. Defensive over the marathon of dumb romance movies he’d watch on the weekend and _only_ the weekend locked up in his room, laptop open and unfinished bags of chips scattered around.  He might even think Lance watches some from the way he was just chirping about how their date should go.

They drive up to the full parking lot of Red Lion's, taking up an empty spot near the pier walkway. They both sigh, mentally preparing themselves in their seats. Keith looks out to see couples and families walk up to the double glass doors.

"Okay, let's go," Lance snaps his seatbelt off, it almost hits Keith in the face. He turns off his engine and step out of the car, but before shutting his door he sees Lance still in his spot. A smirk tugs its way to his lips.

"Nervous?" He asks.

"No. I'm waiting for you to open the door for me."

Keith rolls his eyes and slams his door closed. Lance waits with a bouncing leg for Keith to open his door. Lance steps out. Equal level of height. He raises his hand up for Keith to smack his to take. 

"Let's get this over with," Keith inhales and the walk up to the double doors up front.

 

…

It doesn't take too long for Lance to get comfortable sitting in front of his ex and girlfriend. After being seated by their bubbly waitress they chat idly, stuffing themselves on the bread they served. Lance and Romelle shake hands and Keith shakes hands with both of them. The lights swing across above their heads to give a soft glow. The huge window they sit by shows the pier walkway with people strolling past. The water, crystal and clear, darkens along with the sky. 

During the wait for their food Lance would casually glance at Keith to see if he was doing okay, and by the looks of him smiling and actually talking with Allura and Romelle has Lance feeling a bit proud of himself for bringing Keith out. Like a proud mom watching her son communicate for the first time — except maybe Lance shouldn't compare himself to a mom and Keith as his son.

But what punches the good mood out of him was after their waitress places their food down. Allura and Romelle started to talk about how they met. They would laugh, smile and nudge each other in a way Lance admits was cute. Lance knows better not to be envious. Allura moved on from their failed relationship and Lance should be moving on too. That’s what a break up is supposed to do, right? Move on and learn from the mistakes? 

He takes Keith's hand under the table as he listens to Romelle talk about their story. He feels Keith's hand stiffen. 

"We were both in the same summer school class for history. I didn't know where to sit so I sat next to Allura," Romelle explains with a fork in her hand, her bracelet jingles with every swing in the air, "We started talking ever since I kept asking for a pencil.”

Allura giggles, "It became sort of a routine. Every time she came in the room I would always have a pencil waiting for her.”

"After that, we just kept hanging out and suddenly this happens," Romelle gestures her hands out.

"And your dad supports right?" Lance asks. It’s just Allura and her dad living in her household. A man of wicked charm that Lance grew to admire at each visit. He sort of missed him.

He reaches out for his drink. 

"Of course. He actually was pretty excited to meet her. What about your family?"

Lance and Keith both perk up behind their raised glasses. Keith's eyes Lance down and choke ups a cough.

"Actually Keith hasn't met my family yet…"

There comes the screeching halt, "Why not?" Allura frowns.

"We just don't have time to?" It comes out more of a question than an answer. Lance thinks he might have swallowed an ice cube with the lump in his throat.

"I've been really busy with work," Keith inserts.

"Aw, that's too bad. Just don't want you hiding from your parents, they are acceptable, right?" The tough question comes out. The tough question that might not have an answer. Lance feels Keith pinning him down.

“I think so,” Lance says, “I never had a boyfriend,” _cough_ “before.”

“I’m sure they will be acceptable. Keith seems like a good guy. Your mom is pretty accepting. If not I’m always here for you to come to,” She wears an apologetic smile. Her fingers brush against Lance's knuckles that takes him back to a similar memory of standing outside his own house with Allura brushing her fingers against his knuckles, telling him softly it’ll be okay and saying she would always be there for him. He just wishes she kept that true after the breakup.

Keith’s foot knocking Lance’s ankle has him back to where they are. _Right, the fake boyfriend reality._

"I never would have thought you guys were dating," Romelle cooes, "I always see Keith sit with you guys at lunch. How did you _really_ meet?" She asks in triumph. Practically bouncing in her seat.

And that's when Lance and Keith break one of the rules from the car ride. They both stare at each other, eyes wide as saucers. They stare and stare and stare.

"We —"

"Uh, yeah —"

"Don't be shy," Allura giggles, urging them on which forces both of their mouths to drop and say:

"We meet as study partners."

"We meet at a park!"

Allura and Romelle both slant their brows in confusion. Lance mentally slaps himself. He even swaps Keith's hand in his.

"Ow?" Keith snapped under his breath for only Lance to hear.

"We met in the park!" Lance continues, "Keith was walking his dog during my jog and I decided to just join him and his cute, adorable dog."

"But before that," Keith points out, his eyes darken over Lance, "We became study partners."

"That too."

"But you guys are friends with Hunk and Pidge, correct?" Romelle asks. Her elbows planted on the table to listen.

"Yeah, we hardly talked though, until the whole study thing," Lance chuckles nervously. He knocks Keith's foot under the table.

"I found him annoying at first. I didn't think we ever end up together," Keith plasters a smile at the end. He knocks Lance's foot back, “Honestly, I never would have thought I’d fall for a guy as messy as Lance is. I guess that’s just the beauty of love."

Romelle aws from her side.

"Are you two nervous?" Allura asks, "You seem so skittish.”

Lance shakes his head and laughs.

"We're fine!" He wraps his arm around Keith, their shoulder bumps and Lance leans his head sweetly on Keith's.

"Wait," Romelle eyes them down. Lance's heart gets caught up in his throat.

"Yeah?"

"Is this…"

 _This is it,_ Lance thinks. The moment of truth. He's going to be outed in the middle of a crowded restaurant. This is where he’s gonna die. He’s already planning an escape route but Romelle quirks her lip up and leans back in her chair. A smile adapts her face.

"Is this your first time on an actual date together?"

"Yes!" Lance blurts out, "Yes, it is! Yup, we never had a dinner date like this before,” He squeezes them tighter. Keith pushes him away by swatting his knee.  

"I knew it. No wonder you two are so awkward," she laughs.

Lance just nods. Laughing along to her, but Allura places a soft hand on his, giving him a corrugated nod that should be making him feel better but it makes him feel worse. 

"We only been hanging at Keith's place and watching movies since he's so busy most of the day. Right, Keith?" Lance stares at him.

"Yeah."

"Summer break is heading our way. Maybe you'll have more time together then," Romelle says.

Lance just nods and that's what he does for the rest of the night.

 

…

The rest of the dinner runs by smoothly — at least that's what Keith thinks. They chat about school, gossip, and talk about how chemistry is kicking all of their asses. They talk more about summer plans and Lance goes on and on about the fake small dates they've had. Some were a bit too extreme, like sneaking into each other's rooms, and what embarrassed Keith was when Lance explained their first kiss. At first, he stated they had it at homecoming and it was the "most perfect first kiss ever" until he started to talk in details like a story book.

Not too extreme, but the way he explained it had Keith blushing. Why should he be? It never happened. This first kiss is not even a dust particle of a memory. Lance went on and on about their history of keeping the relationship a secret for privacy until recently. 

And besides holding hands under the table or pretending to stare into each other's eyes like it's the only pair out there, Lance leans in after dinner to give Keith a kiss. Just a short, simple, sweet kiss on the lips to last two seconds, but what did Keith do? He dodged.

Yes. He dodged meaning he ducked away so that Lance's lips fell onto his cheek.

And now Lance is pissed because of it.

They walk out of the restaurant after saying their goodbyes to Allura and Romelle. He did enjoy the meal and he seemed to cozy up to Romelle easily at one part when Lance and Allura went off to their own conversation.

Keith stares at Lance walking before him. Walking a bit _too_ fast for Keith to catch up. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't point out how beautiful the pier looks or how cold it is outside, or how Lance is physically shivering. Keith wanted to offer Lance his jacket just for the purpose of being nice, but Lance doesn't take it and instead walks up to the driver side of the car.

"Keys."

"What?"

"Your car keys," Lance states.  

Keith scatters for his keys in his pocket, he throws it over the car for Lance to catch. The car unlocks and Lance steps inside.

"What are you doing?" He finally asks him when Lance sits on the driver seat.

"I want to drive."

"I didn't give you permission to drive my car!" Keith argues back.

"I just — I want to drive. Don't you want to be home soon?"

Keith sighs opening the door to plop himself in. He shuts it in return and waits. Lance just sits, both hands on the wheel, his glare focusing pass the windshield. Something is wrong.

"I thought it went perfectly fine. They bought it."

"We messed up, Keith! Did you see the look they gave us? We could have been caught."

"They still believed us. I don't understand what the problem is. It's done and over, they believed we were dating," Keith hisses in annoyance. What is his deal? He could feel the heat radiating off Lance when his knuckles turn white on the wheel. His nose scrunches in anger.

"They called us awkward Keith, and we forgot about the story of how we met I — I didn't think about that part. We looked like idiots. I just wanted it to be perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect,” He smashes his fist along, “No flaws. I wanted her to believe that I moved on and I'm not still upset over her. I‘m not still mad over my mistakes," He barks out, but the last part sounded lost and weak. There’s tears gathering up in his eyes.

Keith stills. He didn't know he would be dealing with a breakdown today, not from Lance per se. He struggles to find the words to say next, something to calm him down. Maybe a "it takes time" sort of thing or some inspiring quote his mother told him after James and he broke up.

"Sorry," not a great choice of word, though it has Lance's shaken shoulders relax, "It's hard, but you can't be too caught up on this breakup. Don’t let it ruin your life."

The car fills with Lance's sniffs and the screaming children on the pier outside,  frolicking around. Lance wipes his nose with his sleeve then settles in, straightening up. His hand shifts to put the car in reverse, his foot stays in place.

"Good?" Keith asks.

"I can't drive."

"What?" Keith cranes his neck forward, "You can't drive? Then what are you doing?"

"I can drive — I just am not very good at it."

"I swear if you crash this car, Lance."

"I won't crash your car," Lance jeers blankly, "I'm not _that_ bad," The boy bites down his bottom lip. He steps on the pedal slowly to pull out. Keith is watching him like a hawk.

Yet they make it out of the parking lot alive.

"See? Not that bad —" Lance stomps on the brake paddle when a couple walks in front of them to get across. Lance rolls down the window to yell out a sorry but receives a middle finger as a response.

Keith raises a brow at him. He's tense with someone else behind the wheel, fairly reminds him of a time a few weeks prior to the breakup of letting James drive his car with his permission. He remembers them laughing and Keith joking around about how James couldn’t drive. He snaps out of it once Lance drives his way on the busy roads.

"Maybe you're not so bad," Keith says. He notices how focused Lance is with his tongue poking slightly out of the corner of his mouth and his eyes are alert and bright.

"I know that's a lie but thanks."

"No really. You haven't killed anyone yet," he chuckles softly. Lance smiles along. They are at ease which Keith wants them to be at.

"I did have fun by the way," Keith utters, "It was nice to be out," Lance doesn't say anything, "Thanks."

They stop at a red light, the light blinding their faces and lighting up the car from the darkened skies. Lance turns to Keith.

"Good. Besides the whole kiss incident, it was fun."

"It came out of nowhere!" Keith says.

"I mentioned it beforehand! But it's fine I guess. I don't like kissing without meaning anyways."

The light switches to green, their faces change expressions along with the light. Lance continues to drive forward.

"Really?" Keith asks.

"Yeah, call me a romantic nerd all you want."

"I'm not going to call you that. I just never met anyone who takes kissing to a personal level."

"Well, now you have."

“I guess you can’t make fun of me anymore for watching rom-coms.”

They both laugh.

"Thank you, Keith — for the whole fake boyfriend thing."

"Yeah. Anytime — well not any time — just, you're welcome."

Lance grins. They make it back to his place safely. The brunette stumbles out so Keith could switch back to behind the wheel.

"See you in school if you're not sick of me yet," Lance ushers, "Maybe this could have been our bonding moment," he adds a wink.

"Maybe it can be," Keith shrugs. They wave at each other before Keith pulls out of his driveway. He sees Lance opening the door to his house and a small hand, maybe a sibling or family member jumping on him for a hug. A faint smile meets his face as he drives off.

 

…

"Woe, hey guys!" Lance exclaims when Nadia jumps on him to be carried and Sylvio tugs at his shirt, "I wasn't gone for that long."

"Daddy isn't happy with you," Nadia concerns, "He's really mad."

"What?" Lance's struggles to keep the smile on his face, "What do you mean?"

"Lance," His oldest brother Luis stands in the opening of the living room. His face is stern and his arms are crossed, "We need to talk. All of us," He steps aside to show his mom standing in the middle of the room, her hands cupped in front of her chest. Veronica shaking her head at him. Marco is lounging on the couch, his eyes disproving. Rachel is also there. Looking worried as his mom.

He releases Nadia down and drags himself to the living room.

"Where were you?" His mother says first. She rushes over to him to plant a kiss on his forehead, her fingers are shaking with nerves, "Where were you?"

"I was hanging out with friends.”

"Why didn't you tell us! You had me worried sick."

"Mama, calm down," Lance places his hands on her shoulders to weigh her down on the rocking chair, "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you."

"Don't ever do that again," She grabs his wrist, "You hear me? You missed our family dinner."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Lance, please remember to remind us where you're going. Even if it's to Hunk's," Luis sighs. His children at his side hugging his leg.

"I will. I was running late."

His mother gives a reassuring nod before hugging him one last time. He figures the reason why they always are so overprotective of him is for being considered the baby of the house. Even Luis who hardly has time to hang out with them as siblings tags along on playing the older brother.

Lance feels guilty. He apologies to everyone again before they leave for bed. 

 Veronica gives him a smirk and follows him to his bedroom.

She sprawls out on his bed, glasses sliding off to the side, "So, where were you?"

"Hunks," Lance answers her. Taking out his pajamas and placing them on his dresser which was just a pair of shorts and a white plain shirt.

"Like I'm gonna believe that. You're dressed nice."

Lance's eyes pop, he forgot about that, "What do you mean? I always dress this nice," He plays along. 

"Yeah, okay," She sits up, "Who was the date?"

"None of your business Veronica."

"I saw you get in the car with a guy," She smiles wider like a Cheshire cat.

"It wasn't really a date," Lance stands. He walks over to where his pet hamster spins on a wheel to fill her bowl up with more food.  

"So it was a date?"

"Okay, can you leave now? I want to change."

"Not until you give me the juicy details," She tilts her glasses down when he turns around to cross his arms.

"Honest truth?"

"The honest truth. Don't lie."

"Fine," Lance slides his beanbag over to fall into.

"So?" She edges. Coming closer to the edge of the bed.

"Let's see here, remember the party I snuck out to?"

"Mhm."

"And I told you everyone was gonna be there?"

"Mhm."

"Well, my ex was there."

"Oof," Her face scrunches like biting into a lemon, "Allura, right? It did take you a while to get over her. You're over her right? She was beautiful.”

"I, I thought I was," he stutters, "Until I saw her new girlfriend — and don't get me wrong! I'm happy for her. They really fit. They're each other's missing puzzle pieces, but…"

"But?" She inches closer.

"I accidentally got a little bit jealous that I was still alone and blurted out I had a boyfriend — I didn't mean to. Something came over me and it happened. Pathetic, I know, but then it escalated quickly to the point that Hunk and Pidge found out. Romelle, Allura's new girlfriend suggested we go on a double date and I nodded like an idiot. So I went to Keith who spilled coffee on me that morning for help since he spilled coffee on me and needed to make up for it," Lance explains, rapidly throwing his hands all over the place that Veronica's eyes follow, "I begged him to help and he said no. But a few days later he finally said yes so we went on the double date today and I fake dated."

Veronica falls silent. Her glasses slide all the way down the dip of her nose. Her face blank and her mouth shut tightly.

"Say that again?"

Lance inhales, like, he really inhales for the first time that day. Maybe even the first time that week. He replays the whole double date over again, the failed responses, the failed kiss, and the argument he had with Keith in the car.

He exhales, "I fake dated."

"Unbelievable."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter for the long wait. The secret is out with Veronica, the date went, so and so good, now what's next? 
> 
> Insta: merakibluu for drabblea 
> 
> * Thank you for reading *


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